Used Winch Checking The Cable - Photo 03

If the winch actually works off the bat, checking the cable is easy. If it doesn’t, that’s not a deal breaker, but you will still want to try and spool the cable out. New cable can run you anywhere from $150-$300 and running the cable out (whether in freespool or under power) will tell you if the gearbox in the winch is OK. Any weird grinding or pliers needed for moving the freespool lever means that the winch you are looking at should be at the bottom end of the price range. It is OK if you need to use your Jeep to pull the cable out, even in freespool mode, especially if the cable looks like this.